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J. Hilburn Raises Money for Bespoke Men’s Clothes Online

Bespoke clothing has been a luxury for the rich. But a men’s e-commerce start-up, J. Hilburn, wants to use the Internet to make custom-made suits and shirts more affordable.

On Thursday, J. Hilburn announced that it has raised $5 million from Bridgescale Partners and Battery Ventures, bringing its total venture capital to $13 million.

J. Hilburn shoppers can order ready-to-wear apparel from the Web site or make an appointment with a style adviser who will meet them at their home or office to take their measurements and present fabrics and style choices. On a dress shirt, for instance, men can choose from 14 collars, 10 cuffs and five types of pockets. The company sends the measurements to factories abroad, where the clothing is made. The shopper receives the items within a month.

“Apparel is tactile, people want to touch it, and we found a way to circumvent that,” said Hil Davis, co-founder and chief executive of J. Hilburn. “A live, person-to-person conversation takes place and then after that the customer can choose to buy online.”

J. Hilburn buys fabric from Italian mills that luxury designers use and sends it to China for shirts. The fabric is sent to Portugal for trousers and suits, which are made at the same factory used for Armani, Paul Smith and Zegna suits, Mr. Davis said.

But the company sells the clothes for much less than those brands. For instance, a sport coat similar to one by Zegna that sells for $1,595 at a department store costs $625 on J. Hilburn, Mr. Davis said. He is able to cut costs by selling directly to shoppers and avoiding the retail supply chain mark-ups.

If the custom-made clothes aren’t a perfect fit, customers can return them for a full refund. Last year, customers asked for refunds on less than 1 percent of items purchased and re-ordered 93 percent of the time, he said.

J. Hilburn is embracing several trends in e-commerce. Like Warby Parker, the online glasses retailer, J. Hilburn lowers prices for luxury goods by cutting out the middlemen. And like Bonobos, Gilt Man and Trunk Club, it appeals to men who care about fashion but might not like to shop and prefer to trust an e-commerce site to select the best items.

“Customers are saying, ‘I don’t want to shop, I trust you as a brand and I trust my style adviser to pick out great choices,’ ” Mr. Davis said.

But by making clothes and using style advisers to meet customers in person, the company is also reminiscent of a trend during the dot-com bubble: e-commerce companies that failed because they spent too much money to be profitable.

Mr. Davis said J. Hilburn keeps costs down by paying the advisers a commission instead of a wage, outsourcing the sewing to factories abroad and opening no physical stores.

J. Hilburn started in 2007, has generated $40 million in revenue since then and expects to sell 150,000 custom-made shirts and 25,000 pairs of trousers this year. On Thursday, it will also start selling tailored suiting.